Known ringback tone services allow a user of a called communication device to preselect a ringback tone to be played to a calling communication device. Traditionally, the calling party would hear a standard ringing sound before the called party answers the call. The ringback tone service replaces that standard ringing sound with a ringback tone selected by the user of the called communication device. For example, the ringback tone service allows the user of the called communication device to customize the ringing sound that a user of the calling communication device hears while calling the called communication device.
To set up the ringback tone service, the user of the called communication device sends ringback tone selection criteria to a ringback tone service component. The ringback tone selection criteria indicate which ringback tone to play in various circumstances. For example, the ringback tone selection criteria may instruct the ringback tone service component to play a first user-selected ringback tone for any call with a first set of characteristics, and to play a second user-selected ringback tone for any call with a second set of characteristics.
The ringback tone service only allows quantitative and objective ringback tone selection criteria to determine which ringback tone to play to the calling communication device. For example, the user may input any combination of time of day criteria, day of week criteria, day of year criteria, and/or calling party number or identity criteria. The ringback tone service component compares objective characteristics of the incoming call to the ringback tone selection criteria to determine which ringback tone to play to the calling communication device. The ringback tone service does not allow the user to create ringback tone selection criteria based on subjective factors. As one shortcoming, the ringback tone service limits the level of customization provided to the user of the called communication device by not allowing subjective ringback tone selection criteria.
Thus, a need exists for one or more ringback tone selection criteria based on subjective factors selected by a user of a called communication device.